The screw calculus and its applications in mechanics

Abstract : The author sets forth the basic propositions of screw calculus on the basis of the elementary apparatus of modern vector algebra and indicates certain of its applications. The book sets forth material from the theory of sliding vectors, the algebra of complex numbers of the form alpha + omega (alpha superscript 0) with a special multiplier omega that possesses the property omega squares = 0, the algebra of screws, fundamentals of the differential geometry of the rules surface, which are necessary for the kinematics of solids, the foundations of screw analysis, and, finally, certain data from the classical theory of screws in its geometrical aspect, with indication of a number of applications in mechanics.